Listen to the full series on BBC Sounds. Fractional distillation works because the different liquids have different boiling points. When the mixture is heated: vapours rise through a column which is ...

In this video, Fran Scott explains fractional distillation - the separation of crude oil into fractions. Crude oil is a finite resource; petrol and other fuels are produced from it using fractional ...

CORRECTION: This story was updated on Dec. 16, 2015, to correct the description of distillation and to clarify the separation difficulty posed by azeotropes. A new method for heating liquid mixtures ...

If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in ...